Room 69
by shuusetsu
Summary: He was trying so hard to keep that as a secret. More so he didn't want Usami Akihiko to know that he used to spread his legs in front of the cameras for a living. But the very evidence of his lie, his DVD two years ago, was sitting on the author's table waiting to be seen. Waiting to destroy the new hope that Takahashi Misaki had been building up.
1. Chapter 1

**Room 69**

* * *

><p><em>He was very gentle. A very gentle man indeed. His eyes, his voice, his hands. Everything. That was why, even though bright lights were focused on them, cameras reeling at their every movement, eyes watching them keenly, the younger man under the dominant man was okay with it. Even if he was having sex in the open, Takahashi Misaki was okay with it.<em>

_"How is it?" the voice gently whispered in his ears. "Feel any pain?"_

_"Hmmm...no-no..." the panting voice whispered back. His face deep buried on the white pillow, his hands clutching the sheets tightly. He was so hot in the face. As his most private parts was left in the air for the other to probe, Misaki just gritted his teeth, trying not to moan so much. "T-there...it feels strange..."_

_The man smiled gently and pulled a finger out of the trembling kid left to his mercy. He snaked his huge hands from the kid's buttocks to his narrow waist and turned the kid over, letting the brunette lie on his back. _

_He gently poured little kisses over the kid's nose while he himself was unbuckling his belt._

_"Eh...?" Misaki lifted his head and looked at the sound of the unbuckling. "You're putting it already? Don't you want me to suck you off firs-"_

_The man stole the last words away with a kiss. Light at first, until he had taken the kid to a different dimension with his tongue claiming everything in Misaki's mouth; his breathing, his essenses, his soul._

_When they parted, the man wiped the trace of their saliva from the corners of Misaki's slightly swollen lips. _

_"No...today...I'm just pleasuring you."_

_Misaki blinked at the camera above their heads. "That wasn't in the script...was it?"_

_Sweaty bulky arms surrounded Misaki in a protective hug. Misaki flinched at the lips nibbling on his right ear. _

_"Hosokawa-san?"_

_"Misaki...this is the last time we're doing this okay?" he gently whispered. "We're retiring from this job."_

_"Huh?" Misaki muttered, almost hitching at the sudden pressure at his entrance. _

_"Let's stop doing this and live together?"_

_Takahashi Misaki, an amateur actor for adult videos was the shy kid when he first met Hosokawa. Hosakawa Daisuke was the older actor who guided him with the ropes of the industry. Aside from the kind man being his 'partner' in the 'Room 69' series of the independent film company, Hosokawa and him started falling inlove with each other for real. _

_Hosokawa may not be labelled as the 'handsome' type. He had a good build and knowledge in bed though that made him one of the popular AV actors. Aside from that, his warm smile gave the viewers the illusion that this man was living to give pleasure and protect them at the same time._

_It wasn't just an act though. He was really the kindest man Takahashi Misaki ever met._

_Moving away, Hosokawa leaned above the teen's face. "Let's live peacefully...and quietly..."_

_Misaki's eyes blurried. He finally found a man that wanted him for real. A man who wanted to take care of him and spend forever with him that he only managed to nod. He nodded vigorously as he drapped his thin arms around the man's back._

_Their farewell, the third scene of 'Room 69' series ended with the most passionate coupling of two real lovers. And although the company felt that it was such a loss, having the last fourth scenario of the series left undone, they still gave the couple a warm farewell party. _

_It was a bliss to finally get away from the system of adult entertainment and start dreaming of what's actualy ahead of them. A future that Misaki had wanted ever since. Especially for a kid like him who didn't really have so much of a striking appearance or an intelligent brain, finding a genuine love with a genuine heart who wasn't only in it for sex was difficult. _

_"Ne, Misaki...Do you want to go back studying?" Hosokawa asked as they walked hand in hand in the darkness of the night. Both slightly tipsy from the party after their filming. "I've saved enough for apartment and your studies...you should go back."_

_"Uhm..." Misaki squeezed the hand holding his tighter. "Don't pamper me too much," Misaki pouted as he took folded ten-thousand yen bill from his jeans. "I have my own money here and savings you know..."_

_Hosokawa pinched the cheek of his young partner lightly. "Dummy. Don't use it. That's going to be for your future."_

_"I have you already..." Misaki shyly replied, actually resting his head on the taller man's arm as they walked. "Hosokawa-san...thank you..."_

_The gentle hand patted Misaki on the back. "Let's live happily okay?"_

_"Hmmm..."_

_As the younger male was about to put his paper bill back to his pocket, the wind blew harsher, surprising him. His money flew away in the air as if wanting to play 'catch me'._

_"Ah! Hey!" Misaki sprung to his feet, reaching for his money still in the air before it landed on the road._

_"Misaki!" Hosakawa shouted. "Hurry up, it's dangerous there."_

_The kid picked his money up while smiling. When he looked to his front, blinding headlights pierced his eyes. That wasn't there earlier. How it sprung out from nowhere was a mystery Misaki never wanted to know. _

_He had wanted to jump away. He had wanted to escape from being rolled over of that giant truck. But Misaki couldn't move a single muscle in his body. It was as if invisible ropes tied him in place.. He could only watch with wide eyes at the nearing vehicle before him._

_A shadow leapt forward. The strong shadow pushed Misaki to the sidewalk. From the impact, Misaki could only shut his eyes from the pain and the sickening sound of bones cracking and silent gasps in his background._

_When Misaki opened his eyes, Hosokawa was sprawled before him. The truck had sped off faster than lightning. Misaki didn't know whether to run after the truck, or look at Hosokawa or die himself._

_"Mi-misaki..." the man's kind eyes were gazing at the starry sky. His lips in a faint smile while saying his lover's name. "That's dangerous..."_

_"Ho-Hosokawa..." Misaki whispered as he fell on his knees, cupping the man's kind face. The teen wanted to scream at the sight of blood on the man's lips. But there was an unexplainable huge object in Misaki's throat he couldn't utter anything. He just sat there with his cheeks and clothes splattered with his partner's blood._

_How cruel could life be? They were finally starting anew. As life partners. As bestfriends. As lovers. They were about to. And lost all of it in an instant._

_"No...no..." _

_Birds having their rests on the electricity cables flew away. A few of their black feathers falling to the tragedy before Misaki as if it was the birds' tribute._

_"Don't...Hosokawa-san..." he begged, shaking the man lightly on both arms. "No...Hoso-...I'm so..." Misaki couldn't utter it as he was consumed with too much anger at himself that he cried strongly without a sound._

_Hosokawa Daisuke died the night he proposed to his beloved. And since then, nobody has heard of Takahashi Misaki, the innocent kid in the 'Room 69' Gay AV series of Marugawa Independent Films._

Misaki stared at the small TV with his own sex video playing before his eyes blankly. Two years have passed since then. But he couldn't still get over that the first man who took him seriously was nowhere he could reach with his hands.

_"I'm really a bad luck...everyone who gets close to me...just disappears..." _

As his own moans from the video echoed in his ears, as his own skin reminisced the gentle caresses of his gone lover, Misaki's muffled sobs filled his own small apartment room. It was always like this. Always like this crying alone every single night while watching their last passionate video.

* * *

><p>"Eating lunch alone Takahashi-kun...?"<p>

Takahashi Misaki, a gloomy presense in the midst of lively other youths didn't so much as glance behind him. The other students sitting near him had to knit their brows in confusion. A popular professor was calling a not so popular student and the latter had the nerve to ignore him.

"Haha...so cold as usual...I'll call you for recitation..."

Misaki just munched on his food.

"Heh...still no reaction? Haha..oh well," Ijuuin Kyo snickered, ever so gently blowing his breath at the back of Misaki's ear. If Misaki flinched, the brunette had perfectly masked it like nothing happened. "Need you at my office after lunch," the man whispered only Misaki could hear.

Misaki just chewed his food without even nodding. He swallowed hard and gulped the youghurt drink in three huge successions.

"What was that Takahashi?" a hushed voice of a male asked, inching closer to the brunette. "Ijuuin-sensei has been calling you...yet you ignored him in front of e-ve-ry-bo-dy. Do you want to be hated?"

"Just ignore him..." Misaki mumbled, finally giving the other a proper glance. "...he loves making fun of me."

"Well..." the other guy was a thin and short guy, even shorter than Takahashi. He looked sickly but there was a smile always on his face that never lost its luster. That was why he's still more liked than the brunette beside him. "...he's just friendly I guess...be more polite at least!"

"He's not really that nice of a professor you know..." Misaki mumbled tiredly. _"He's a blackmailer..."_

Takahashi Misaki, a third year college student majoring in Economics suddenly lost all the taste of his set C lunch. He slowly placed his chopsticks down and lifted his gaze from his tray. The cafeteria was full. Their noise, the giddy movements to impress, the posh atmosphere came swirling into a one headache. He knew he didn't belong there but he crammed himself in for his future.

"Eh...you're done?"

"Yeah...someone needs my services..."

"Services? Ah...you help Ijuuin-sensei after lunch with something right? Get going then!"

* * *

><p>He wasn't talking at all. However, his eyes from his cluttered table towards a stupid woman grinning at him were clearly saying what he wanted to say. What. The. Fuck.<p>

"Oh come on sensei!" the woman said, fanning her hand to her face. "A normal change of pace or scenery didn't give you the jump start for a new story. Something more erotic or probably really different might do the trick!"

Usami Akihiko, a dual-named author, writing for two different genres, was in a tight spot. He had no problem with the 'normal' genre which was about a male nurse who fell in love with a perfectionist woman doctor. It was a hit since the 'under' in that relationship was the male instead of the other way around. It brought so much tears to the readers when the woman doctor who always shoved to the guy's face he was inferior found out that he's sick.

Well that wasn't the problem. Usami was almost done with it. His problem was his 'other genre'; BL, boy's love, guy to guy relationship which would probably earn a scowl on the surface but was really selling like pancakes.

He couldn't think of anything to write. Even the most genius of writers experience this sort of like a 'dry spell'. And he wasn't that cheap to use a cliched high school love story or any whirlwind love with no point at all just so he could present a finished project. He wanted his job fool-proof,at its highest caliber, at its finest.

So far after going for a trip in Osaka or going to a pottery, he was still empty handed. What was more pressuring was it was a storyline to be used for a manga. The deadline more tight than usual.

His serious lavender eyes grew into slits, his fingers that had never done any houseworks in his entire life picked up the glimmering colorful cases that was placed on his table.

"But this?" Usami hissed. The orange, pink and yellow CD cases had only 'Room 69' on it. At one glance no one would even think they were adult videos. They have this 'innocent approach', sugary packaging that wasn't exactly to his taste. "Gay Adult Sex Videos for crying out loud Aikawa? I am not that desperate!"

The woman with bouncy red hair and a decent figure in a decent attire grabbed the CD cases protectively. With her professional appearance, no one would have any inkling that she was rotten inside.

"Sensei, don't you dare underestimate gay sex videos. They have their own stories you wouldn't find somewhere else...besides..." she closed her eyes reminscent. "The actors are great! You might not know this, but this series was really popular...at least to hardcores like me two years ago..."

His handsome profile reflected in the small rectangular mirror looked disgusted. True he writes smut for his characters, but to watch two men who probably wouldn't be to his taste? Not a good idea.

The woman must have read what was in her author's mind that she stood beside the table, fighting for her 'awesome' AV picks.

"Just give it a try sensei. It wouldn't take much time since it only has an hour per scene of the story...while you watch that, I'll read the manuscript for your other story."

Usami glanced up, the woman smiled back. The reason they clicked working with each other was though the editor named Aikawa was nosy and loud, she wasn't the nag when it comes to personal matters from the man. What his preferences were, why he writes BL in the first place, Aikawa didn't ask. She was the fan first before she became the editor. And she was respectful enough and sensible enough to keep the mysteries intact.

Working together had told both parties of their secrets better left unmentioned. Thus a bond strong as friendship was established. Maybe that was why they were also able to be much more patient with each other when everything in work was a mayhem.

"Have you watched these?" Usami asked, picking one orange CD case with 'Room 69 - 3rd Entanglement' printed in a Classy Handwriting style. "What's this about?"

The woman sat at a nearby sofa with her hands holding the manuscript for the 'normal' love story Usami was writing. "Of course sensei! I wouldn't recommend something awful to you! And it's about...eh just find out on your own!"

"Hmmm..."

"Oh I remember!" Aikawa crossed her legs, her cheeks slightly blushing. "The third Scene was the best sensei...I cried stupid! I wished they didn't put mosaic on the body parts though..."

Usami threw a dirty look at his editor and opened the CD case. "Room 69...Entanglement...and what the hell is this frilly design? Can't they think of any more un-obvious title for its erotism?"

"Sensei! Give it some slack and just watch it!"

"No," Usami hissed, throwing the CD somewhere on his trashy work table. "I'd rather sleep than watch some cheap AV. Go home and leave now. And take those stupid videos with you."

Aikawa lowered the manuscripts to her knees and gave her author a thoughtful look. One question she didn't want to ask but was already presented by the situation came out of her mouth faster than her brain could stop it.

"Sensei...do you dislike anything being acted in real by real persons?"

Usami didn't even flinch from where he was seated and just continued glaring at the screen of his laptop.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well..." Aikawa lowered her eyes and decided to choose her words carefully this time. "I was just wondering...you write BL flawlessly...but then...anything when it comes to real persons acting it out seem...undoubtly from your eyes that it disgusts you..."

The man gave a humorless chuckle before eyeing his editor.

"I just don't like men coupling in front of cameras for the world to see. There's still a level I could tolerate."

"But you write things...about the g-"

"Having thoughts in your brain, entertaining them in the privacy of one's mind is different from acting it out for public viewing."

"You actually don't think the _video_ as cheap," Aikawa frowned. "The _actors _are."

Usami stood. "I don't believe that anyone, male or female spreading their legs for a living , in front of the cameras no less deserves respect. The very act shows they don't respect themselves."

* * *

><p><strong>notes:<strong>

i love twisting them to different persons...LoL.

i found this story buried deep within my folder. didn't know this still exists. but i figured i'd post it.

thanks for the time and share your thoughts if you have anyXD

-shuusetsu


	2. Innocence

**Innocence **

_chapter 2_

* * *

><p>He was dead tired, body and soul. He dragged his feet as if something was attached to his ankles. Squinting a little, a small lamp post glimmered in Misaki's eyes. That thing was erected there after an accident two years ago. An accident that Misaki knew very well.<p>

The young man gave a small smile. Smelling the scent of the white rose petals he had placed in an open jar, Misaki stood perfectly still beside the lamp post. An empty road before him. There was nothing special in that place. At night, specially in summer, it was just stuffy and silent and could be frightening. But Misaki just stood there, head bowed as if praying.

"Hello..." Misaki mumbled, his brows meeting in a painful frown. "Look...I've grown taller now. And like I promised...I'm studying hard...Would you believe I transfered to that school you liked. It's expensive but I got in as a scholar...insane right? This stupid me as a scholar?"

The young man curled his lips a bit as he bowed. "I got in the university you liked. Met friends...and well..." he snorted. "...a blackmailer..."

Misaki sniffed, laughing as he looked at the vast velvet sky. Truth be told, he'd be more happy if he could pay his respects to his gone partner's grave. But after the man's death, it was only then that the Hosokawa's family learned of his job and his inclination. The family was so devastated that when Misaki introduced himself, he got the insults instead. They didn't even let the still lost kid that time the chance to know where the man's remains lay.

That being the case, Misaki had no choice but to pay his respect for the second death anniversary of the kindest man he knew at the exact place where he died. It was pitiful, but he could do nothing about it.

"The world is so heavy without you Hosokawa-san...I'm really very exausted..."

The young man started walking. He walked right in the middle of the road, throwing his white rose petals on where exatly Hosokawa lay dead bleeding two years ago. Misaki was so absorbed by it. Such was the camlness the dancing petals gave him that he didn't even bother when he heard a car horn blasting at him. He didn't even look at the glaring headlights enveloping him. He was there trying to live but he knew he's dead somewhere. Why was he again even so trying hard when he could just follow Hosokawa in a blink of an eye?

"Damn what is this retard doing?!"

For a very long time, he had been stuck in his apartment. Holing himself there, he figured a drive, a fresh air would do him good. Instead, Usami Akihiko couldn't believe it that he almost committed homicide. It was more than a brush of luck that his ability to act fast was still there he was able to hit on his breaks right away.

"Is he deaf or what?" Usami grumbled, pressing on his car horn. The man patiently waited for any sign that the kid would finally walk away from the middle of the road. He reached the end of his rope when the drunken looking teen didn't even move a single muscle.

"Shit..." Usami angrily removed his seatbelt, hopped out of the car and dashed to the kid who was looking down. "Are you trying to do suicide?! Go and find some other car!"

The brunette who hadn't spoken a word even after being shouted at abruptly turned his gaze to Usami. The emerald eyes looking at the man's direction looked angry. Hell Usami should be the one angry here. But the just kid stared at him long and hard until it felt like forever.

That was when Usami noticed the almost empty jar the kid was holding and the flower petals scattered on the road. The silverhaired man didn't know how, but it just somehow clicked in his head that _this_ was a death anniversary.

"Well, kiddo if you're trying to remember someone, do it at least on the _side _of the road."

Without replying, the malnourished figure of a young male started leaving Usami alone. The older man watched the brunette and the brunette's depressing posture as he walked away. When the kid reached the side of the road, he suddenly just sat there. Eyes at the exact spot where most of the flower petals had gathered.

Usami drew a deep breath and went back inside his car. He drove fast away from that area. His car sent the accumualted flowers flying and leaving a trail behind him. His eyes once in a while darting to his side mirror where a crouched kid was visible.

The author had wanted to have a refresher. Instead, the depressing aura from the teen seemed like contagious. He felt damn low he felt sick that he decided to forget about it in an instant.

* * *

><p>Days passed by in an impossible pace. No accomplishments whatsoever and the author was beginning to really feel annoyed at himself for this block. This was the longest he ever experienced. His head just wouldn't go nowhere past the thought of two persons passing each other without any idea that they were tied in some thread. He couldn't get past the questions that make the foundation of every story. he makes. How would they develop? How would they come into terms of their differences and views? How would the other accept the past of his partner that so disgusted him?<p>

"Shit..." his answer was nowhere. His word processor was still as blank as he had stared at it some three hours ago.

With no practical reason to do or plan, the man grabbed his keys. And headed to anywhere his car and feet would lead him. Hopefully, there would be no contagious depressing persons this time.

* * *

><p>He had his eyes scanning the tall shelves. They were aligned so neatly and fashionably like the rest. Only he was in the farther section of this all-round original and second-hand CD shop. The farthest and the most secluded. The silence, the ambiance definitely spoke of movies, series or specials that shouldn't be shown to any underage.<p>

The light was a bit lower and warmer in it. Perhaps for enticing effect. But it didn't affect him one bit. Takahashi Misaki just stared at any familiar CDs he knew so well. Those sugary, sweet looking DVD cases that stood out from the rest. There were only a few old men present, scanning the porn section. The homosexual themed area remained unoccupied except for one.

He stood on his toes and grabbed the three cases in one pull. And he placed them under the normal movies he had selected in his basket.

He had been doing this. Buying his own DVDs still in circulation. He knew it was futile. The film company had stopped producing it. But he couldn't do anything when the old buyers sell their copy to second-hand shops or produce their own copy. He didn't have the resource, the time and the strength to battle for it.

Buying them just to reduce the number was the only thing he could do. In the hopes that no one would find out. That he used to do something like this.

* * *

><p>He was dizzy. The air-conditioning in the shop was in full blast. And when he went out, the scorching heat felt like passing through all the nerves in his head.<p>

Misaki squinted. He tried hard to focus his gaze towards the ground. He could barely hold his head high for fear of people recognizing him. It was as if he was a paranoid. Funny when Hosokawa was still there, he didn't even care and never feared anything. When the man vanished, his resolve and self-confidence went with the man.

His grip in his sling bag with his CDs inside tightening. He staggered but no one paid him attention. In noon, drunks were a normal scene. Specially this part of the city. The rule don't drink when you can't hold your booze very prominent. Clean up your own mess.

"I have been losing sleep because of that...crap...that professor..."

He paused and drew a deep breath. The streets swirling under his feet. He even wanted to puke. But he realized he hadn't eaten anything since he left that Ijuuin's office last night. That mask-wearing man really exhausted him this time.

He continued staring blankly into space. The sun's rays sting his eyes. His eyes blurry from his own sweat.

And then he saw him.

That back. That stance. That height.

Hosokawa.

Misaki laughed. He must be getting delirious. He blinked again.

But when the man just stood on the sidewalk as if waiting for someone, as blurry as it was, Misaki's heart pounded hard against his ribs. He was being called to that. He was being drawn to that blurry figure.

Only then that Misaki realized how desperate he was. Desperate to belong to someone again. Perhaps Hosokawa had gone down the heavens to fetch him. He didn't care if he died in turn.

Slow steps. One small step at a time. And then Misaki reached to the man's arm.

The sun's devastating flare was obstructing his view. But he could definitely see Hosakawa smiling at him so gently. As if saying everything will be fine. Misaki almost cried as he stared hard at the blurry face.

"Hosokawa-san..." Misaki breathlessly called.

_"Misaki..."_

The young man thought he heard that. His heart heard that. But the words registering in his brain was different.

"Excuse me?"

Misaki's smiling, crying face froze. He blinked harder this time. And then he saw the cruel reality once again. This man had the same built as his lover. But the silverhair, the unreadable lavender eyes, the icy hand holding his hand to move it away, they were not Hosokawa's at all.

As if burned, the young man drew his hand away on his own. "I'm sorry...I mistook you for someone..."

The tall man watched the brunette for a long time. As if inspecting something weird.

"Are you alright? You look really pale."

No he wasn't. That was so lame, Misaki thought. He was about to suffer heat stroke in front of a stranger.

* * *

><p>The shade of a huge Oak tree felt amazing on his skin. The slight warm breeze as it passed the trees around started cooling a bit. The cicadas somewhere produced this sound of calmness. And the bench offered a slight comfort to his aching back as he rested his body on it.<p>

Summer. Hosokawa-san's favorite season.

"Drink that before it gets warm."

Misaki looked at the man and at the bottle of water that was given to him by the same person. He really could slap himself for being a weakling. He had not even an energy to decline the kindness. Kindness, when he was this vulnerable was his greatest enemy. The young man knew that.

"Thanks..."

"You...do you know me?" said the man.

"I really didn't mean to grab you out of nowhere...Mr...Uhm...sorry..."

"Never mind then, it's cool."

For a long while, they just sat there. Both males at the end sides of the bench. Not a word. Just a silence that mingled with the gentle breeze blowing at their faces.

Misaki lifted his gaze from his half-drunk bottle of water to the man. Just very discreetly not to be so obvious. The profile of the one sitting near him didn't belong to just anyone. By the looks of it, he could be a rich, lazy guy idling around with not an idea where to spend money. He could be a famous actor or athlete from some other country. Just that the man, didn't feel like he was ordinary at all.

The man's gaze was directed at a very far away place. As if he was seeing something else other than the empty playground across him. A soft smile playing on his lips. And then his eyes moved to the side. To where the brunette was now already openly staring at him.

"Feeling better?'

"Ah...yes thanks."

Stretching his long legs, as if he just got released from a tight grip, the older man sighed contendedly. "It's been so long since I sat in a park. Who knew this is where I'd get an inspiration?"

"Inspiration..."

"I write stuff," abruptly the lavender eyes swept over the kid close to him. "Well...I guess not the type you'd know about."

"Huh?" Misaki chewed on his tongue, tilting his head to the side.

"Oh...did I offend you or something?" this cool guy asked. "It's not something innocent kids would know..."

"..."

Misaki looked stupid as he stared, and then just began to shake. And without warning laughed. At the same time, the man stared dumbfounded. Thinking that the heat must have entered the kid's brain and fried it.

_Innocent kids... _

That word 'innocent' was the very last in Misaki's vocabulary. More than that, he was hardly a kid anymore. That didn't fit him at all. It was absurb. But when he was told by this stranger that, strangely he could believe he was. Just for a fleeting moment he could believe he was indeed an innocent kid. Innocent of the past he was running away from. He was innocent for the very reason that this man didn't know anything about him. And that felt extremely good.

* * *

><p>Usami looked at the laughing kid beside him. The brunette just laughed on his own. He started wondering if he said something ridiculous.<p>

"What's so funny?" the man asked in a mild manner. He would surely be offended under normal circumstances. But he didn't feel any of those. "Did I say something weird?"

"Uh?" Misaki glanced to the man and tried to swallow his giggles. He only made his face flushed. "Sorry, just...'innocent' sounds off to me..."

"Why?"

"Nothing at all," Misaki replied starting to finally calmdown. "I look weird right? But thanks."

"Thanks...for what?"

Misaki turned at the man, his eyes probably teary from laughing. "It felt good."

"_What 'it felt good'...?"_ Usami started uncapping his own drink that had gone warm. "You're indeed weird."

"Innocence... It's a pretty word ne?"

The older man shifted to his seat and observe the kid. Like what he always did when meeting a new person. To see through them and their pretentions. He only saw a weird smile on the young man's face, suddenly glowing from the tiny spaces from the tree leaves where the sun rays could pass through. That was something warm. The rustles of the tree leaves gave a nice ring in the ears. A light feeling for a first meeting he didn't feel at all when meeting anyone from the publishing company or even his own relatives.

The boy had stopped laughing, but his giggles seemed to have still lingered in the air. Strangely sweet yet somehow mocking.

Just like that the man started smiling on his own. He closed his eyes. It was a good decision to go out. He was out of his block and met someone different from all the rest of the other young men and women who flocked to him, baring their skins and souls without a care in the world.

* * *

><p><strong>chapter end notes:<strong>

thanks a bunch for the patience XD

-shuusetsu


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